


A Chance Encounter in the Bathroom

by jacquelee



Series: Writer's Month 2020 [12]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Actors, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:26:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25879639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jacquelee/pseuds/jacquelee
Summary: Zari Tarazi, influencer extraordinaire is bored to death at the Academy Awards and takes a little breather in the women's bathroom. She never would have guessed that this would lead to her learning an incredible secret about Ava Sharpe, A-list actress and hottest candidate for winning an Oscar.
Relationships: Ava Sharpe & Zari Tomaz | Zari Tarazi, Nora Darhk & Ava Sharpe, Nora Darhk & Zari Tomaz | Zari Tarazi
Series: Writer's Month 2020 [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1861585
Kudos: 5
Collections: Writer's Month 2020





	A Chance Encounter in the Bathroom

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [Writer's Month 2020](https://writersmonth.tumblr.com) for the Day 12 prompt Meet Cute.

Zari was hiding. Not that she would ever admit that openly, but the company of all the other influencers and famous people she had been seated with at this ceremony had been boring her to death. She especially regretted having come here with her current (but hopefully not much longer) boyfriend DJ S'More Money, who just didn't stop talking. At all.

The first few Oscars had already been awarded, and she was actually not even that uninterested in these categories, but a few minutes ago he had again started talking about how great it would be for both of their brands if they got married – which was especially awkward since Zari had been looking for a way to break up with him for a while now – and she had just not been able to take it any longer. 

So she had left her seat, pretending she needed to touch up her absolutely flawless make up, scandalizing everyone around her as she squeezed through the aisle. That is how she ended up here, in the women's bathroom, which currently was mercifully empty and quiet. 

Even though she didn't actually have to pee, she still went into a stall and closed it, to have a quiet moment to herself, just in case someone would come in, as unlikely as that was in the middle of the Academy Awards ceremony.

Or maybe it wasn't that unlikely because suddenly she heard the door open and close and then fast footsteps, as if someone was pacing, and heavy breathing. The door opened and closed another time, clearly another person had entered after the first one. Zari thought about sitting it out, hoping that they would leave soon, when one of them spoke, in a worried, urgent tone.

"Please, breathe, it is all going to be okay. Nobody knows and nobody will even think about asking anything about you being…"

"A clone? Manufactured to factory settings? Bought and put to use?"

"Come on, we talked about this."

"I'm know. I just…"

"It's okay. This is all a lot and there's too many people that are all looking at you and expecting you to be this larger than life persona they think you are, and with this secret weighing on you it feels like everything is about to implode."

"Not really helping."

"Just breathe, it'll be okay. They don't care about who or what you are, not tonight, tonight they only expect from you to be graceful whether you win or lose. If you win, just get up on that stage, say a few words, thank some people, hey, you can thank me, I think I deserve the most credit here anyways."

Still processing the things she was currently overhearing and internally debating whether or not she should make herself known – still leaning strongly towards just waiting this out – Zari now heard one of the women laugh a little, just a small, dry sound.

"Don't let Mona hear that. I'm sure she has something to say about that."

"Oh, yes, of course, we all know the great Ava Sharpe wouldn't even exist without her."

Another laugh, this time more of a chuckle, as the woman was clearly calming down a little. Which was exactly the opposite of Zari's current emotional status. That was Ava Sharpe out there! She was the opposite of a celebrity hound, especially since there were so many of them she knew personally, but the realization that she was currently stuck in a toilet stall while the brightest star in Hollywood had just revealed what must be her biggest secret without her knowing she was here was too much even for her.

Instinctually, she tried to retreat a few steps but she miscalculated the distance and nearly tripped over the toilet bowl, bracing her hand on the first thing she could reach, which was unfortunately the button for the flush. Before she could do anything at all, the toilet very loudly flushed and she inwardly cursed when all noise from outside the stall ceased in an instant.

There was a weird stand off in which nobody seemed to even breathe. Then, Zari reached a decision. She was Zari Tarazi, owner of Dragonesque, she would not just hide out in a toilet stall. So, she straightened up, shouldered her bag, jutted her chin out, plastered a well practiced smile on her face and opened the door. 

What greeted her was more or less expected, a horrified looking Ava Sharpe, who despite clearly having barely just recovered from a panic attack and about to spiral into another one was still incredibly glamorous and exuded confidence even while simultaneously looking like her entire life was about to implode. 

Her friend on the other hand looked like she was about to commit murder and seeing that Zari now recognized her as Ava's assistant Nora Darhk, from what she had heard about her and her past, that would be entirely possible. 

Not acknowledging either of the women's expressions, Zari pretended to not notice the tense atmosphere and instead (marginally fake – this still was Ava Sharpe after all and she was still giddy enough meeting her) cheerfully smiled at them, turning towards the row of sinks, making a show about washing her hands, while still watching them in the mirror. 

Taking a deep breath, she called upon all her etiquette training and lessons in improvisation during uncomfortable social situations and just hoped the plan she had hatched in the last five seconds would at least marginally work.

"Such a boring event out there, isn't it? I see I'm not the only one who felt like slipping away for a moment and I absolutely understand that rehearsing a new role feels like a much better use of your time. And I know I wasn't supposed to overhear but I am very intrigued. Whatever movie this is for, you are one hundred percent going to nail it." Having just dried her hands, she turned around and made a show of giving Ava a thumbs up, smiling widely at her. "I mean, I knew you were a great actress, but that was phenomenal. Amazing!" 

"What?"

That was said very quietly, more to herself, so Zari chose to ignore it. Ava looked at her still very confused but clearly grateful for the way out, while Nora just squinted, obviously suspicious of her motives. Instead of saying anything about that, she stretched out her hand for Ava to shake, which she did after a few moments of hesitation. 

"Zari Tarazi, Dragonesque. I'm sure you've heard of me." Shaking Nora's hand too, the other woman gripping quite hard, Zari opted to ignore that blatant threat too and continued on. "And as someone who has always supported magical creatures and their rights, let me say, I am thrilled that you're going to be in a movie about them!"

She knew she was laying it on thick but subtlety had never been her strong suit and the only thing she wanted from this encounter was to get out of here in one piece and preferably without the eternal hatred of both Ava Sharpe and Nora Darhk. Apparently she was going to get her wish, because Ava seemed to now have caught on to what she was saying and was all too eager to confirm it.

"Yes. Yes, a movie. Absolutely. I'm going to make a movie about… about this."

Nora seemed to sense that that was the extent of what Ava was currently able or willing to say, so she took over, glaring at Zari but to her relief not looking quite as homicidal as she had before.

"This is all still in the pre-production stage and needs to be kept absolutely quiet, you understand?" 

Another hard glare, this time calculating. Oh, yes, Zari understood. She understood perfectly well that the daughter of Damien Darhk, a powerful witch who, if rumors could be believed even marginally, had been possessed by an actual demon and after having been freed was now trying to turn her life around and had been hired by Ava Sharpe as her assistant a few years ago, a choice that had drawn much criticism but had been justified by them having been childhood friends and Ava wanting to give Nora a second chance, was better not to be angered. Ever.

As far as Zari knew there had never been actual scandals involving Nora after she had started working for Ava, no matter how deep the paparazzi were digging. But from what she had just overheard, there might be a lot of paying off involved, if Ava herself was truly a magical creature too, not just her assistant. 

She needed time to process all of this, so she just smiled reassuringly at both of them.

"Of course, I would never spill someone else's secret. Don't worry, my lips are sealed."

Intentionally leaving it at that, ambiguous whether she had actually bought her own made up story or not, Zari shot them a last warm smile and then left the bathroom as quickly as etiquette allowed. She returned to her seat, her partner immediately starting to talk her ear off again, but this time she was barely phased by it. 

Ava Sharpe was a magical creature. A clone to be exact, whatever that meant in detail. She had absolutely no intention to share those news with anyone but that didn't mean she wasn't nonstop thinking about what exactly that meant and what the implications of it were. 

It felt like her entire world had just been turned around because of a conversation she overheard in the bathroom. If this wasn't literally about someone's livelihood, she would have laughed about how sitcom-esque the whole situation was. Meeting one of the most famous people in the world in the bathroom while they were spilling their darkest secret.

Might as well be the start of a Hollywood movie.


End file.
